June 3rd, UC 0079 - Southern Europe
"The brass is fucking crazy." The pilot named Jeremiah complained in an RX-79 [S] Gundam Sky Type, "The rest of the army is retreating 200 kilometers, while we're going forward 50 kilometers."
"We're the only Mobile Suit unit the Federation has." Rose explained from the cockpit of a repaired RX-78T-1 Golden Gundam, "They're counting on us and whoever else they sent ahead of us."
"I heard that it's Death God Barberry." One pilot said anxiously,
"Who?" Rose asked,
"You don't know Commander? He commands an Anti-MS Platoon. Back in April when the invasion was still fresh, I heard that his platoon was the only one that wasn't wiped out." Jeremiah explained.
"Oh, the Zaku Hunters, I've heard of them. So he's just unlucky then." Rose noted,
"Why? He survived." The other pilot asked,
Rose didn't reply and continued without addressing it "Besides, I'm more worried about the fact that the pussy called Colmatta is pulling back another 200 fucking kilometers, while we're going ahead 50. Zeon could sweep from the Northeast and chomp on our asses."
"Not much we can do about that one." Helos said resignatedly.
"How much longer?" Jeremiah asked,
"Only a few more minutes." Rose replied solemnly. They all knew that those few minutes could mean life and death for that platoon.
In the wake of her defeat at the hands of the Black Knight, Rose had quickly received a transfer from the Moore Brotherhood. Despite the official and strategic reason being that the Earth front was a much more pressing matter (which technically, it was). Rose knew that the real reason for her transfer was that they wanted her as far away from the Black Knight as possible. Ever since her defeat, her use as a propaganda tool had taken a hit, and the legend of the Black Knight only grew.
As such, this was both a way of keeping such a PR disaster from happening again and as punishment for being defeated in such a manner.
Rose looked back towards the task at hand, her and her new mobile suit platoon, the 01st Mixed Independent Mobile Suit Platoon consisting of ten RX-79 [S] Gundam Sky Types and three RX-79 [G] Gundam Ground Types. They'd barely been thrown together the previous week, and this was their first sortie. Even more worrying was that these pilots were completely green, fresh out of academy and given a brief orientation on how mobile suits worked (according to Federation knowledge) and were essentially handed a manual and expected to figure it out from there.
Not exactly the best odds. Someone up there hated her.
A black Gouf ran along a line of trees, holding his shield out to block the few shells it couldn't dodge.
"S-Shoot!" The panicked commander shouted, "We of the 3rd Tank Platoon-" He was brutally cut off by the Gouf suddenly shooting towards him, and in one fluid motion, it stabbed the tank right through the cupula, the heated metal glowed as the tank exploded.
The Gouf blocked a tank shell before retaliating with a 280mm bazooka, incinerating the tank in a single shot.
"That's the last of them." Alma stated, stowing her shotgun on her back.
"Good work, all of you." Ryan nodded, "Gaia, have you been able to contact the advance team?"
"No. The last I heard of them was that they were pursuing a mechanized infantry detachment." Gaia told him,
Ryan tch'ed, "Then they likely ran right into an ambush. Federation Anti-MS squads could be hiding anywhere."
With the war increasingly shifting to Earth rather than the moon, and rumors of the first Federation MS reaching the frontlines, the 300th Newtype Corps, at the insistence of General M'Quve, had been reassigned to the 1st Terrestrial Mobile Division.
However, as so far, the rumors of Federation mobile suits seemed to be false.
"All troops advance towards the last known location of the advance team. Watch out for Federation Anti-MS teams." Ryan warned, and the Newtypes gave various phrases of affirmation before proceeding.
"What's it looking like Jerry?" Rose asked. She'd told Jeremiah and Helios to go ahead and scout the area but not to engage.
"Bad. So far they got one Zaku, but the platoon has nearly been wiped out." Jeremiah said,
"Let us engage!" Helios insisted, "They're going to be wiped out!"
"Alright, granted. But be careful, there's very likely a larger force behind them. Remember this is a hit and run." Rose told them,
"Thank you commander." Helios said gratefully.
Mariage, Southern Europe
"Damn you…" The Zaku pilot turned to look dead at Barberry, who was hauling a Regina guided missile launcher into position.
It turned and stepped forward, firing a barrage of leg missiles at him. All of which missed, impacting behind him. Drawing it's machine gun, it ran towards Barberry, preparing to finish him off, when suddenly he took another step and the ground cracked beneath it.
"What the-?!" The pilot shouted in surprise. Unknown to him, he'd fallen in a pothole. He desperately tried to claw out, but it was too deep, Barberry smiled as he aimed down the sights.
"Don't you know what potholes are?!" He shouted gleefully. The Zaku reached out for Barberry, trying to prevent him from firing, but Barberry pulled the trigger, and a missile shot straight at it's monoeye, and it fell back, finally disabled.
"At least you have a grave." Barberry spat, he looked up to the sky. "Yet again, I'm the only survivor." He chuckled, "Everywhere I look I see Death Gods, but only those who survive…deserve to be called Death Gods."
He turned around, and suddenly the ground erupted in front of him, a third Zaku. It rocketted up, machine gun at the ready, and landed with a loud thud.
Barberry drew his sidearm, "Just as I thought…a third Zaku." He aimed at the suits cockpit, and fired.
Simultaneously, a beam pierced it's chest, incinerating the cockpit. Barberry could barely duck out of the way as the Zaku collapsed, behind him, a mobile suit stood with it's left shoulder beam cannon still faintly glowing from the beam.
"You alright down there?!" It called,
'Federation…mobile suits?' Barberry collapsed, he vaguely remembered rumors of a new Federation MS platoon, but he hardly thought they'd come to save him.
"I really do get to live…yet again."
Rose approached the catatonic man. Barberry was simply sitting on the ground, staring at the downed Zaku.
"He's been like that ever since we found him." Helios shrugged,
Rose nodded, but didn't respond, and approached Barberry. "My name is Lieutenant Commander Rose Sahalin, I'm the commander of the 01st Mixed Independent Mobile Suit Platoon." Rose greeted him.
"Say, Lieutenant Commander, have you ever collected your mens dog tags?" Barberry asked,
"Can't say I have." Rose admitted,
"'Course you haven't. You've been fighting in space." Barberry stated. "Lieutenant Ben Barberry. 30th Anti Mobile Suit Platoon - Zaku Hunters,"
"We should leave." Rose told him, "There's probably a larger force behind these ones."
"Commander!" Jeremiah ran up to him, "We got a problem."
"What is it?"
"Karen spotted a large group of mobile suits, company sized. Slightly under 50, and what's worse, there's several Goufs among them."
"Shit. ETA?" Rose swore,
"Three minutes. They were held up by a straggling tank platoon, but they dealt with it quickly enough."
"Lieutenant Barberry, do you think you can accompany one of my pilots in the cockpit?"
Barberry stood, for the first time since they'd met him. "Yes, Lieutenant Commander."
"Enemy spotted!" Marion said over the radio. Her new MS-06G were now painted in her now trademark blue and purple colors, while she held a 175mm recoilless rifle, scoped for ranged combat. "And you better come see this!"
Ryan approached her, and gasped. Below them were a group of Federation mobile suits, standing above the three-Zaku advance squad.
"Well, we found out what happened to the advance squad…and look, the Valkyrie herself is among them." Zero said grimly.
"Should we engage Commander?" Johnny Ridden stepped forward,
"..." Ryan thought about it, if they engaged now, they had a shot at taking down Federation mobile suits for the first time, but they had no idea of their capabilities, if the Federation had managed to mass produce beam weapons…this would be a slaughter.
"Marion, take a shot at one of those Production-types." Ryan ordered,
In her cockpit, she nodded, "Hold it steady…"
'Newtypes are the enemy!' A ghostly voice echoed in her mind, as the back of a scientist dressed in orange appeared in front of her scope.
'Shut up! I'm done with you!' She shouted internally, and the image vanished as she pulled the trigger.
Without warning, Jeremiah's Sky Type was hit in the left arm, blowing out a large chunk of the arm and leaving a smoldering hole.
"What the-?!" Jeremiah cried out as he drew his beam rifle.
"Shit! Everyone go now!" Rose yelled from her cockpit, immediately transforming into fighter mode, she fired her wing-mounted AGMs at where she estimated the shot to come from.
"Gah!" Marion shrieked as she shielded herself from a barrage of AGMs.
"They're retreating! Get them!" Zero yelled, charging his MS-06G out into the open.
"Zero don't!" Ryan shouted, then tch'ed. "Back him up!" Ryan charged out behind him, and eventually overtook him, right in time to block a shot from a beam cannon.
"I knew it! Beam weapons!" He shouted, discarding his Gouf's shield, he closed the gap between him and the retreating mobile suits.
However, this left him briefly exposed, and Rose took advantage of this, firing her AGMs she managed to score hits on his knee pit and leg, causing him to fall.
"One of you, use the Gundam as a subflight system!" Rose shouted, slowing down so a Ground Type Gundam - incapable of flight - could board.
The other two were picked up by two other Sky Type Gundams, and took off, quickly pulling away as mobile suits charged over the hill, firing various projectiles at the retreating Federation Forces.
"That was…too close." Jeremiah panted.
"Yeah…wasn't that the Black Knight?"
"We'd have been wiped out if we didn't get out sooner."
Rose ran her hands over her face, 'He's on Earth as well…? This is bad.'
Rittmeister Airfield, Central Europe
The Gundams landed some distance behind friendly lines and landed on an airfield where the 44th was gathering.
Once they landed, Barberry was taken away for medical evaluation, while Colmatta called Rose for a debriefing.
"You left the frontline without engaging." Colmatta noted.
"With all due respect sir, there was only one Zaku left to eliminate, not to mention…" She inhaled, "...I'm sure the company we engaged back there was the 300th Newtype Corps."
"Impossible, they're in space."
"Sir, they were led by a black colored Gouf, and the way they piloted-"
"Coincidences, Lt. Commander."
"The same 'coincidences' that led the 30th to be wiped out?"
Colmatta finally looked up from his papers, "I sense sarcasm, Lieutenant Commander."
"Not at all, I'm merely saying that had my platoon been allowed to sortie earlier, we could've saved a great deal of good men. But I'm sure that preventing logistics issues will save lives as well."
Colmatta smirked, "You are very lucky. I normally don't allow my subordinates to talk down to me like that." He stood, and began circling the room.
"The loss of the 30th was a tragedy. However, I won't have you wandering off on a wild goose chase. We get a 'Black Knight' sighting every other day since the invasion. Not to mention even if he is present, he's one man."
"Who can single handedly wipe out tank companies?" Rose countered,
"Enough, Commander. I'm not here to argue. You sortie on my command, and my command only." Colmatta cut her off, before continuing. "Your position is tenuous. Ever since the disaster that was Dr. Moses death-"
"They hit an impossible fucking shot from a quarter kilometer away! I'm a soldier, I don't perform miracles!" Rose interrupted
"-Your position in the Federation is at risk! Your future hangs on my words, you would do well not to forget that." Colmatta shot at her, quickly causing her to go quiet.
'Pompous sonuvabitch.' Rose thought to herself, "Yes sir." She replied with gritted teeth.
"Dismissed, Commander." Colmatta said, and Rose turned around sharply, her hands balled into tight fists.
Zeon-occupied Zagreb, Croatia
The 300th Newtype Corps settled in a Zeon camp outside the city of Zagreb. As an independent team, they didn't report to anyone lower than M'Quve, but nonetheless, he chose to attend a debriefing with Major General Yuri Kellerne.
If he was being honest, Ryan didn't mind the General. He was far more pragmatic than other officers, and unlike them he genuinely cared about his men more than his own glory.
"General." Ryan entered the briefing room and saluted.
"Ryan! Come on, now no need to be so stiff, sit down!" Yuri guided him into a chair, and passed him a drink, Ryan took a sip, and realized it was not alcohol, but similarly colored apple juice.
"Sorry, but I don't support giving those underage alcoholic drinks." He shrugged apologetically, "Anyway, what do you have for me."
"The advance squad was wiped out, unfortunately." Ryan stated,
Yuri nodded, "They will be missed. I liked Bebel. But I trust that's not the only reason why you are here."
Ryan continued, "The last Zaku…it was downed by a Federation mobile suit with beam weapons."
"So the Feddies have got their own eh? Well, this is going to be a problem for sure."
"Sir, with all due respect, I suggest you launch an offensive. Draw out their forces so that we can report it back to M'Quve."
Yuri genuinely thought about it, "Alright."
"But- wait, that's it?" Ryan cocked his head in confusion, "You agree?"
"It's a good plan, and besides, M'Quve is breathing down my neck to push the frontline into Germany."
"Alright," Ryan shrugged, choosing not to question the swiftness with which his plan was adopted.
Augusta Newtype Labs, Central North America
A red RX-79 [S] Gundam Sky Type rushed at the first Zaku in front of it, quickly slashing its mouth cable before running it's saber through the monoeye. It then proceeded to kick the Zaku, sending it into a building.
Another Zaku tried to sneak up behind it, but instead the Sky Type merely turned its saber behind it and ran the Zaku through the chest, barely missing the cockpit and sparing the poor test pilot.
"One of these days, she's going to kill one of those men." Admiral Gene Coliny noted.
Monica didn't respond, but simply watched as 04 continued her rampage.
04's Sky Type grabbed another Zaku and in a surge of strength, grabbed it's head and flipped it over her, slamming it down into the ground.
"That's enough, 04." Monica said from her observer's position over the makeshift training ground. It would be problematic if one of the pilots died, even if they were simply convicts. The Gundam looked up at her, and for a second she thought it might attempt to attack her, but it merely sheathed it's beam saber.
Coliny stood, "I want her to be assigned to the 01st Platoon."
"With all due respect Admiral, the subject is still unstable. A little more time and we can surely work out the few chinks in its mentality-"
"You mean her diehard hatred for Zeon? I'd kill for more soldiers like her. Zeon is driving us back in Europe, Southeast Asia is all but lost, America is on the verge of collapse and Jaburo can't do a single day without an air raid! Any advantage we can get, we must use." Coliny said sharply, "Besides, handling one like this one will certainly keep that witch busy."
"Rose Sahalin, you mean?"
"Yes, in fact, I'd like her studied when you get the chance." Coliny told Monica, "If she is one of these so called Newtypes, I'd like to know how to mass produce them."
Monica bowed slightly, "I'll bring her in when I get the chance."
"Zeon…I'll kill them all." 04 gritted her teeth,
"Good news 04." Monica came up to her as she exited her cockpit, "You'll be killing Zeons very soon now. We're sending you to Europe. The frontlines."
04 gasped, and then grinned. "When do I leave?"
"Preparations begin immediately. You will be attached to the 01st Mixed Independent Mobile Suit Platoon."
"Hmph. As long as I can kill as many of the Zeons as I want, we won't have a problem."
If she was being honest, Monica was perturbed by 04s behavior. Not only was her hatred of Zeon everpresent, but she was hardly a team player, always abandoning her teammates in favor of pursuing the enemy, and while she was a skilled pilot, this often proved detrimental during mock matches, where the opposing team would simply draw her off from the main group, eliminate her teammates, and then finish her off in a group, any of her teammates who tried to follow her would find themselves unable to keep up, and would simply be eliminated themselves.
What made her especially concerned was that it was an open secret in the Brass that the 01st Mixed Platoon was a glorified suicide unit. While she couldn't care less about the unit itself, the addition of 04 might significantly shorten its lifespan.
'Not like I have a choice in the matter.' She shrugged.
"Is that all?" 04 asked her dully.
"Yes, dismissed."
The Following day
"A new member?"
"It just came in from Jaburo. They're assigning a 14th pilot to your platoon." From his tone, Rose could tell Colmatta wasn't happy about this, likely because he was out of the loop about something.
"Do I even have a name?"
"Her official designation is simply 04 Augusta, however, her real name is Lilith Aidan."
A/N: Here it is folks, the first chapter of Mobile Suit Golden Gundam Season 2: "War on Earth". My one regret is that I feel that things happen a little bit fast in this chapter.
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